Maravi

Abuse of public resources, facilities and institutions

Abuse of public resources, facilities and institutions
By The Post
Thu 01 Sep. 2011, 12:00 CAT

For us to hold free and fair elections, those in the governing political party and are the facilitators of elections need to conduct themselves in a manner that is fair and just and does not put their opponents at an unfair disadvantage.

And one major area of great concern is the ruling party's abuse of public resources and facilities. In yesterday's edition of The Post, we carried a picture showing government vehicles, among them a Mansa General Hospital Ministry of Health minibus registration number ABR 260, being used to ferry MMD cadres to and from Mansa Airport on Rupiah Banda's campaign tour of the area. This is against the law, it is a violation of the Electoral Code of Conduct.

This is not the first time that Ministry of Health automobiles and resources are being used by the ruling MMD in its election campaigns. In 2001, Ministry of Health motor vehicles and money were used by Frederick Chiluba in his campaign for Levy Mwanawasa to take over from him. In the 2008 presidential elections, Rupiah Banda abused Ministry of Health automobiles for his campaigns. And as we did yesterday, in 2008, we published pictures of Ministry of Health motor vehicles transporting the image builders that Rupiah had hired from abroad to help him in his campaign. Despite publicising these abuses, the Electoral Commission of Zambia did nothing. Why? Is it because it is those in power who appointed them to those jobs?

Similar questions can be asked about the ruling MMD's continued abuse of the state-owned media in total violation of the Electoral Code of Conduct. Many people, including the Law Association of Zambia, have complained about these abuses. But nothing seems to have meaningfully changed. Impunity has continued. Why? Is it because those in the ruling party are untouchable or are above the law?

The other day, we also published pictures of automobiles in GRZ registration being changed to private number plates without the knowledge of the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Works and Supply. Nobody in the government today has been able to truthfully account for those motor vehicles, raising suspicions that they have been deployed in Rupiah's campaigns.

Abuse of public resources is a threat to the holding of free and fair elections. But we all know that the ability to conduct free and fair elections is at the core of what it means to call a society democratic. Therefore, the Electoral Commission of Zambia has a duty to ensure that the practice where the ruling party, the MMD is being allowed to abuse its position by using unlimited government resources in its campaigns is checked. We cannot have free and fair elections if government resources are being abused by the MMD for its campaigns. The Electoral Commission of Zambia needs to send a very strong message to Rupiah and the MMD that this is not acceptable. The party in power may enjoy some advantages of incumbency, but such advantages do not include the abuses we are talking about. The conduct of the contest must be fair by ensuring that a limit is put on what advantages of incumbency Rupiah and the MMD may enjoy. And this limit is known. What is lacking is simply enforcement on the part of the Electoral Commission of Zambia. The Commission is very quick to strongly condemn the opposition if the slightest complaint is raised. But there is terrible reluctance when it comes to violations of the MMD, or indeed of Rupiah.

There is a reason for these rules. Elections are only useful to a society if they are conducted in a free and fair way resulting in a clear reflection of the will of the people. Abuse of public resources distorts this. And anything that distorts this process should not be allowed. And if allowed will prove dangerous to the nation in the long term because people will lose faith in our electoral processes and will find other ways of choosing their leaders. We should realise that elections are not the only way of choosing leaders but are the best way of doing so. People can choose their leaders with their blood. This is certainly not desirable and it is a way of choosing leaders we would never wish for our country. But people don't resort to such methods without reasons. If people cannot remove or choose their representatives in what can be said to be free and fair elections, then there is a danger.

We can never over-emphasise the importance of having elections that are seen by all to be free and fair. It is not enough for the Electoral Commission of Zambia to assure the nation that elections will be free and fair when they are doing nothing to stop practices that undermine this. They must strive to ensure that people feel that indeed the elections are going to be free and fair. This will not happen if the Electoral Commission of Zambia continues to look on helplessly as Rupiah and the MMD continue to abuse public institutions, resources and facilities in their campaigns. How, for instance, can anyone justify Rupiah and MMD's continued use of Ministry of Health transport in their election campaigns? We know that the Ministry of Health is under-resourced and our people have serious difficulties getting to hospitals. But it's not difficult for Rupiah and MMD to divert whatever limited transport the Ministry of Health has to their campaigns. This is an insult to the people of Zambia. This is an injustice that should never be accepted. This is an abuse of power. This is corruption.

To some, these things may appear insignificant, but they are not. They demonstrate a general disregard for the rule of law and the predisposition towards abuse of authority.

The Electoral Commission of Zambia should not look helplessly at these matters. The Electoral Commission needs to give confidence to the people by clearly, categorically and fairly denouncing such practices or activities. Their dead silence in the light of such overwhelming evidence of the MMD's abuse of public resources, facilities and institutions only serves to undermine the integrity of the Electoral Commission of Zambia and the confidence that the people may have in its ability to run free and fair elections. It is the Electoral Commission of Zambia's failure to deal with blatant abuses such as the ones the MMD is engaged in that makes it difficult for the people of Zambia to believe that they are sincere, honest, impartial, fair and just in their conduct of elections. If people believe that the institutions that are set up to defend their interests are not doing so, it leaves them open to other approaches which may lead them to taking the law into their own hands.

No one can pretend that the responsibilities, duties and tasks of the Electoral Commission of Zambia are easy ones. They are not. They are very difficult. And in many ways, it is a thankless job. But those who work there have accepted to do it. And it is not too late for them to grow the confidence that the public should have in the Electoral Commission of Zambia. All they have to do is to ensure that the spirit and letter of the law that they are administering is fully implemented in the most transparent and accountable way. The Electoral Commission of Zambia should not allow Rupiah and the MMD to use, or rather abuse, public resources, facilities and institutions as if they were their own.

Labels: 2011 ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION, RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 1:25 PM